Book description
Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins transcended sport in a way very few sportsmen
ever have. In this definitive biography, Tony Francis describes how Alex
threw himself into life like a man throwing himself off a cliff. No
safety net. No plan. No fear. No shame. Francis interviews more than
sixty witnesses to this extraordinary life and comes up with a
remarkable series of adventures to surprise even Alex's staunchest fans.
We hear from his ex-wife Lynn who tolerated him for ten years, helped
him recover from a suicide attempt, watched him trash the house, but
still has a fondness for the father of her kids. Snooker champion Jimmy
White, Alex's best friend, says: 'I loved him, I hated him, I loved him,
I hated him!' The author investigates the Irish drink culture which
undermined his family, colleagues and, of course Higgins himself. How
did Higgins' fellow Irish sportsman and biggest fan, Barry McGuigan,
escape the excesses which dragged Higgins and George Best into the
gutter? Did drink account for Higgins' wild outbursts or was there
something more to it? Why did his lost love describe the man who once
head-butted a tournament official as 'the gentlest man I ever met'? For
all his faults, Higgins was, for a time, the most loved sportsman in
Britain. He remains a legend and the most outstanding, charismatic
snooker player who ever walked into an arena. Francis traces his crazy
life from the time when as a baby he was kept in a shoe box in his
mother's top drawer, to the sheltered accommodation in Sandy Row,
Belfast where died. If you want to know what kind of man could mesmerise
and terrorise his way to the top; be acclaimed by millions one moment
and literally thrown out of a pub the next; die in pitiful isolation yet
be celebrated by thousands lining the streets in what amounted to a
state funeral, then
Who Was Hurricane Higgins?
is a must-read. Tony Francis was an ITV snooker presenter when he
first met Alex Higgins. Between them, they produced Alex's
autobiography, Alex Through the Looking Glass
in 1986. Tony also wrote the best-selling biography of Brian Clough and
Zen of Cricket
, among others. Francis has written for The Sunday Times
and the Daily Telegraph
.
